Abstract:
"Dear Prime Minister Ambani." Musk called Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani on X on October 9, asking him if Starlink could compete. He also expressed his "apology" for not recognizing who was India's "real boss" before.
Ambani is the chairman of India's Reliance Group, and its subsidiary Jio is the main local telecommunications operator. This is the third consecutive day that Musk has spoken publicly, asking why SpaceX’s satellite broadband service Starlink has not been launched in India.
From "Guess Who" to naming Ambani
On October 7, Musk posted that Starlink is being obstructed by certain "oligarchs" who want to maintain monopoly control over the Indian market. He did not give names, leaving only one sentence: You can guess who they are.
On October 8, he stopped letting netizens guess and asked directly: "Is Ambani the real boss of India?" He also said that Starlink has spent five years cooperating with the laws and requirements of the Indian government.
On October 9, in the post calling Ambani "Prime Minister", Musk also mentioned that there are still some places in India that do not have access to the Internet, so children lose the opportunity to receive education, and small businesses find it difficult to sell goods. Starlink can improve the lives of these people, he said.
Immediately afterwards, he posted that Starlink can save lives when ground communications are interrupted.
However, Musk did not publicly provide evidence that Ambani was obstructing Starlink. Reuters reported on October 9 that Jio did not respond to its request for comment. Indian Communications Minister Scindia retorted that day that India does not allow monopoly in any industry.
The license has been obtained, but the service has not been sold yet
Starlink has obtained India’s satellite communications license. According to the process announced by the Indian Ministry of Communications on October 8, licensed operators must also prove that their services meet security requirements and ensure the security of users and their data. Only after passing the security assessment can they apply for spectrum allocation.
The Ministry of Communications stated that the three licensed companies, including Starlink, are still undergoing security assessments and are at roughly the same regulatory stage. The Ministry of Communications rejected claims that the approval was unfair or discriminatory.
Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, another Indian telecom giant, also said that the satellite Internet business Eutelsat OneWeb it supports is also waiting for the approval required to launch services.
Last year we collaborated to sell Starlink, but this year we were publicly named
The person whom Musk accused this time was originally going to help him do business.
On March 12, 2025, Jio announced an agreement with SpaceX, planning to provide Starlink services to Indian customers through physical stores and online channels, sell equipment, and support installation and activation. The day before, Airtel also announced a similar cooperation.
For Starlink, these two companies can provide ready-made sales channels and customer services. At that time, Jio listed Starlink as a supplement to its own broadband business to cover places that are difficult to reach with traditional networks.
However, Bharti is an important shareholder of Eutelsat, and Jio has also cooperated with satellite operator SES to develop its own satellite broadband business. These two Starlink partners have their own satellite Internet business to do.
Jio and Starlink had earlier argued over how to divide the spectrum. Jio advocated auctioning, Starlink supported administrative allocation by the government, and the Indian government ultimately chose the latter.
When Jio announced the cooperation last year, it specifically stated a premise: SpaceX must first obtain the authorization required to sell Starlink services in India. A year and a half later, this premise is still not fully met.
Comments